nvm it's now Chile Bomba complete with jalapeno hushpuppies and a smaller menu

[Edited on August 1, 2011 at 5:43 PM. Reason : .]

8/1/2011 5:40:19 PM

What? Ew. When did that change?

8/1/2011 5:44:20 PM

While I am sad if El Rodeo really is gone, I think jalapeno hushpuppies sound delicious.

8/1/2011 5:45:26 PM

fuck...

i wonder if shitty business during the hillsburl st facelift doomed them

8/1/2011 5:48:12 PM

Article on the N&O said the family was just switching it to a different concept.

8/1/2011 5:51:36 PM

^^no...same owners...guess they thought Chipotle would undercut them


http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/08/01/1383738/el-rodeo-on-hillsborough-street.html

[Edited on August 1, 2011 at 5:52 PM. Reason : ^yup]

8/1/2011 5:51:50 PM

The new place hasn't even opened and y'all are already hating on it.

8/1/2011 5:52:51 PM

lame

it was nice having a generic mexican place where we could eat and drink beer between classes

8/1/2011 5:53:12 PM

gah I loved their chile rellano

8/1/2011 5:55:17 PM

I don't think most people are hating on the new place so much as lamenting the loss of El Rodeo.

8/1/2011 5:55:26 PM

maybe the new place will be good

8/1/2011 5:55:46 PM

^exactly, it's not like El Rodeo was knocking it out of the park foodwise.

8/1/2011 5:57:30 PM

I never cared for the place... food was always bland, margaritas were weak, and beer was over priced... only thing I liked was the chips and salsa, which is virtually impossible to f- up.

8/1/2011 6:02:12 PM

8/1/2011 6:02:47 PM

every time Biofreak70 comments on any restaurant i end up rolling my eyes

dude's opinions are consistently bogus

8/1/2011 6:06:24 PM

lolololololololol

ahahahahahahah

8/1/2011 6:08:06 PM

THEY DIDN'T HAVE GIANT BURRITOS AND THEIR CHEESE DIP HAD TOO MUCH CHEESE IN IT

[Edited on August 1, 2011 at 6:09 PM. Reason : the servers had pointy knees]

8/1/2011 6:09:12 PM

how much was the 36 oz dos equis? i always drank that and i remember it being reasonable.

8/1/2011 6:09:41 PM

good night sweet prince

8/1/2011 6:09:54 PM

you know that laugh where its completely silent but you're hopping up and down in your chair because its coming from deep within? well besides that almost emphysema like sound

yeah that's me right now

LOL

8/1/2011 6:10:34 PM

I always just went to the downtown location anyway. Better atmosphere. I miss the old guy who played guitar some evenings.

8/1/2011 6:20:07 PM

AHAHA

But seriously, if a smaller menu means their ingredients are fresher and their prices are lower, this sounds fantastic. I just don't understand why they wouldn't have switched to that format much sooner.

If they're just serving a smaller menu of the same crap food with rice/beans on the side, then I will continue to not dine there.



(I don't wanna seem like a food snob...if it is even moderately better with hot sauce on the table, I will eat there all the time and talk about how good it is.)

[Edited on August 1, 2011 at 6:24 PM. Reason : For serious.]

8/1/2011 6:21:12 PM

You know, I'd never been a big fan of El Rodeo prior to about 4-5 months ago. Their queso was good, but that's about it.

At some point though recently, their food got remarkably better.

8/1/2011 6:26:25 PM

I know they opened up that location on Six Forks that was like a totally a different restaurant.

I ate there, but I never went back to any of the "original" El Rodeos after that or anything.

And I feel like since then the location on Six Forks underwent a name change at least, if not a buy out.

8/1/2011 6:29:33 PM

^^watch out with those opinions sir- settledown will come in and tell you how wrong you are


(ps- I agree totally- los caz, fiesta mexicana, and el cerro all had better food IMO, and if I was gonna pay the extra money, i'll just go to dos toquitos (sp?). I haven't been there in 2+ years though, so I can't comment of if their quality did get any better)

[Edited on August 1, 2011 at 6:38 PM. Reason : e]

8/1/2011 6:35:00 PM

yeah, but el cerro employees will steal your credit/debit card number and buy internet porn and match.com subscriptions

8/1/2011 6:36:04 PM

haha never heard of that happening

is that at the one on Avent Ferry, or one of the other ones... I could totally see it happening at the Saunder St location

8/1/2011 6:37:50 PM

avent ferry location

happened to me and then a few months later it happened to my wife's friend's brother at the same location

8/1/2011 6:39:08 PM

wow... that's no bueno- I guess I'll make sure to use cash there from now on! How long after you went did you start noticing the charges?

8/1/2011 6:40:35 PM

like within the week

[Edited on August 1, 2011 at 6:41 PM. Reason : saw them on my online banking stuff. disputed it and got it back, but still pissed me off.]

8/1/2011 6:40:59 PM

The loss of a generic Mexican restaurant with no real positives to note other than it being within walking distance of north campus? HOW WILL WE BEAR IT?

8/1/2011 6:42:27 PM

Quote :

"^^watch out with those opinions sir- settledown will come in and tell you how wrong you are"

Nah man, I have excellent opinions on food unless it involves pork.

Quote :

"The loss of a generic Mexican restaurant with no real positives to note other than it being within walking distance of north campus? HOW WILL WE BEAR IT?"

I mean, name another generic Mexican restaurant within walking distance of North Campus.

At least they're not turning it into a pizza place.

8/1/2011 6:45:00 PM

^^^^^^^Whoa, whoa, whoa...whenever that happens at a restaurant, it is typically one or maybe a couple of workers, not the restaurant--YOU NEED TO REPORT IT WHEN IT HAPPENS! That said, it happened to a friend of mine at a Mexican restaurant in Raleigh and another friend of mine at a totally different Mexican restaurant in Florida. The authorities are on it though, I'm sure!


The point is...the vast majority of Mexican restaurants are horrible, horrible, horrible places to eat. And, if they actually improve, like Stein is suggesting, it should be BIG NEWS. But it isn't big news because everybody else just keeps eating the same horrible, horrible food because they like the chips/dips.

REVOLT, PEOPLE! STAND UP FOR TASTY LATIN TREATS!!!!

8/1/2011 6:45:51 PM

Quote :

"I mean, name another generic Mexican restaurant within walking distance of North Campus. At least they're not turning it into a pizza place."

I mean, El Cerro is easily walkable from central campus. But again, that's why I said being within walking distance was it's only positive... because it's the only one.

Honestly, I'm not sure if this transformation will keep Chipotle from undercutting them--that's going to be pretty difficult competition.

8/1/2011 6:51:30 PM

it's easier to just not go there again. cash or not.

8/1/2011 6:51:39 PM

fuck El Rodeo

8/1/2011 6:53:32 PM

^^^Where are they building a Chipotle?

8/1/2011 6:54:25 PM

^ What I want to know. There needs to be a good burrito place other than Moes in Cameron Village

8/1/2011 7:00:14 PM

The Chipotle is in the old GoPacks Bazaar spot next to NY pizza.

8/1/2011 7:02:40 PM

is it already in and open? I've always wanted to try one of these places (I hear it is better than moes and qdoba)

8/1/2011 7:04:11 PM

el rodeo on hillsborough was prob the worst mexican restaurant in raleigh that's ive eaten at. I'm guessing cause the clientele is mostly clueless college students they can get away with lower quality dishes. El Cerro is even better.

8/1/2011 7:04:30 PM

^^It is significantly better.

Chile Bomba is hopefully gonna be awesome in order to compete.

8/1/2011 7:12:26 PM

Every time I've been to El Rodeo, the beef was not drained very well and ended up making everything on my plate soggy. It was also pretty bland. Hopefully the new place is better. Glad I have better Mexican places nearby now.

I did enjoy having a few beers between classes though

8/1/2011 7:16:14 PM

And I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords.

8/1/2011 7:31:35 PM

also

lounge wormhole for the hillsborough street general thread

message_topic.aspx?topic=416339&page=27

8/1/2011 7:33:20 PM

Quote :

"is it already in and open? I've always wanted to try one of these places (I hear it is better than moes and qdoba)"

If you like queso, it's worse.

Which means that unless you're lactose intolerant, allergic to cheese, or a horribly flawed individual who doesn't like queso, it's worse.

8/1/2011 7:44:25 PM

the El Ro downtown is better anyways

8/1/2011 7:52:52 PM

how can you tell?

last time i was at the one downtown, you might as well have poured a bucket of water over my plate

which is consistent with this one

8/1/2011 7:54:55 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgIrXKpv2gw

8/1/2011 7:54:58 PM

The Chipotle is literally right next to where El Rodeo was, just across the side-street.

Quote :

"el rodeo on hillsborough was prob the worst mexican restaurant in raleigh that's ive eaten at. I'm guessing cause the clientele is mostly clueless college students they can get away with lower quality dishes. El Cerro is even better."

I was going to say there's this awful Mexican restaurant next to Barry's Cafe on Tryon, but that's technically in Cary so yeah.

I'm trying to think of a worse Mexican restaurant and having a hard time.

8/1/2011 7:58:06 PM